Georgia

Today in the midst of work slowly being grinded out, I found myself not working but rather looking at maps of the world. I've spent the last 11 weeks in French-intensive courses learning not just about the French culture and language but that of the 18 other students with whom I share my coursework including those from the states. As with all things, there are aspects to spending most of my time abroad with the same group of people that get monotonous and unfailingly frustrating. In such a spirit, I began to find the countries of origin for each student in my class - starting with Tchetchenie, a small country located in Russia just north of Turkey. For most everyone else I know where they come from off the top of my head, no problem but when I first heard the name of this country at the beginning of the semester I thought it was a made-up land next to Oz. Finally, today I found it: small but not unnoticable. Okay, check. Seen, known, registered.

South of Tchetchenie is a country by the name of 'Georgia' in English or else საქართველო in their language, pronounced Sakartvelo. I was so intrigued by this language. An art form every time pen touches paper. Is this the way they view the Latin alphabet (used in English, French, etc.)? I certainly don't, to me it's a form of communication, art in the form of words not lines, but they've allowed language and it's sounds to take over the paper. The movement and beauty of each word, the value of language isn't lost for sake of function. My next wave of thoughts was that I had no idea that this country existed, nor it's people, nor the beauty it holds. It was likely that they knew not necessarily who I was or where I came from but they knew of my home. They'd heard of it and it had affected them at some point in life.

It's not that I have a negative perception of this but more that I am more acutely aware of where I come from and privileged life I live. Perhaps sometimes the oblivious life I live. Being abroad and having the opportunity to expand my boarders isn't an opportunity everyone gets or takes in their lifetime, in the US only 2% of university students study abroad during their higher education and I don't think any one who has, returned quite the same as when they left. My knowledge of foreign frontiers was theoretical until I was given the opportunity to expand beyond what I had known. Now, having been given the chance to taste a bit of what I have at my threshold, I'm grasping for every extremity I can to keep pushing my boundaries, to keep exploring, and to keep finding. I would like to visit საქართველო (Sakartvelo) in my lifetime and I would like to keep finding places I never knew existed.

There isn't really anything better than to let the world unfold itself before you and for you just for the grace of being discovered in wonder.